Brazilian Cheese Puffs

First things first. I generally LOVE all the healthy recipe ingredient substitutions folks are doing out there. Cauliflower mash instead of mashed potatoes makes perfect caloric & carbohydratic sense. (Carbohydratic isn’t a word? Well, shouldn’t it be?)
Frozen banana “nice-cream” instead of ice-cream? Ridiculously good even if you aren’t a banana lover.
But when I am in the mood for something a little crispy, cheesy, and carby, quality substitutions can be hard to come by. Or are they?

My Brazilian Cheese Puffs are made with tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. They are not low carb. But they are gluten-free and much more healthful than a garlic knot found at our local take out spot.
There have a non-traditional flavor punch provided by dried basil, sun dried tomatoes & a touch of Parmesan. The tapioca flour lends a delightfully toothsome chew.

Since the recipe is gluten & grain free already, it can also very easily adaptable for Vegans &/or Paleo by substituting nutritional yeast for the parm (and egg replacer for Vegans).
Did I mention they come together and bake up in less than 20 minutes?
Nice with a cocktail or served more as a dinner roll. We did a little herb butter slather, but warm marinara or olive oil with fresh pepper would be just as nice.
Try them.
Go ahead…

Quick Brazilian Cheese Puffs

My healthier spin on traditional Brazilian Cheese Puffs. Grain-Free. Easily adaptable to Paleo & Vegan

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 12 Puffs

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American, Brazilian, Italian

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup unflavored light Almond Milk other milks can be substituted including dairy, coconut, or other nut milks
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 cup Tapioca Flour
• 1 Egg or egg replacer
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 tsp dried Basil
• 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
• 2 tbsp Sun Dried Tomatoes in oil, chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder

Equipment

• Mini muffin or popover pan
• hand mixer or blender

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

   Grease a mini muffin tin with a generous amount of your fat of choice.

   Prep ingredients so they are ready to go.

   Place tin in preheated oven while you make the batter.

   Add all ingredients into blender and blend on high until combined & smooth.

   Carefully remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and pour in the batter about ¾ of the way up each muffin tin.

   Return to oven and bake without opening the oven door for about 15 minutes until puffed and golden.

   Remove tin from oven and carefully remove the puffs while warm to a wire rack.

   Serve immediately or at room temp.
   
   

Notes

The puffs can be adapted in many ways.  Feta is a welcome addition.  Play around with other fresh or dried herbs in the batter too.

To make them Paleo, simply omit the Parm & add nutritional yeast or dairy free "cheese".  

To make them Vegan, I have successfully used Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer along with nutritional yeast.  The result is even chewier & not as airy, though still delish.